Valve assembly



R. A. TROY VALVE ASSEMBLY Dec. 8, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 27, 1949 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Dec. 8, 1953 R. A. TROY 2,661,765

VALVE ASSEMBLY Filed 001;. 27, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ra maria J 71 0 y J ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 8, 1953 Raymond 1Tif6yPalisades Park; N. J. assigmr' to Specialties Development Corporation; Belle J; a; corporationof New Jersey iii'ibucdtita o tttizv, 19461, N6. 1%236? 7 Claims; (01. 1'37'627.5)'

This invention relates to rs-rem ants; valve assemblies; and is particularly directed to vi-veassemmies use" in permeate-n5 with combinedfire detecting; and extinguishing ys g temsusing fire detecting' means ofthe smoke detecting type. I

Such system's" aree'mployd for the protection of spaces; compartments and the like, alridfusi'ia=l1y comprise a-p1uranty of conduits each leading' from aprotected space to a smoke detecting cabinet; and includem reans for ennui-mans of intermittelitly drawing'airsamples from th pro tected sp'alcesto the cabinet; so that whenfire occurs in any of the" pr'o'tected' spaces, the" air drawn into the' 'cabinet from that space will he laden-Withsfiiok." In such systems;- thes-mol'c detecting cabinet usually includes means mr' detecting the presence of smoke" and" identify in; the space from which 'the"smolielaidn air iswithdrawn; v

Also; each conduit'usually has'a connection to a manifold or header which is in communication with a sourceoffire extinguishing medium; such for'eXample-as carbon dioxide under "pres--. sure. A valve assembly is generally provided in each conduit adjacent the connection to the fire extinguishing manifold, and is normally posttioned to provide communication between the protected "space and the smoke detecting cabinet and tocloseoffi communication with-themeextinguishing medium manifold." When fire is detectedin' any of the protected spaces the valve is operated to close off communication between the -spa0e and the detector cabinet and "to' open communication between the fire extinguishingmedium manifold and" the space; whereby the medium is discharged into the "space to "eitim- I guis'h the fire;

In such systems",r'-it .is" important that'- the; line to the detector 'cabinet' be: shut 'ofi-'complete1y before the "fire "extinguishing valve.- 'is opened; whereby- 'to*prevent'=the "medium from entering? the-"cabinet; a

The-valve bodies'pfsuch systems-= areaenew all? connected together-by *means 'of pipe 001i; nections or nipplesifaridt'to"'avoid complete dismantling ofsuch systems when it is de'siredlto reinoveone of" the valve" "bodies for repair "or? replacement; ithasbeenfound advantageous to employ couplings or "unions betweerf'the valve bddisk'wlirby any-desired valve body removed without disturbing the other valv' "1rdoras-HAH cal viewpoint, they ar still employed in such systems 6 V v I The present invention is} directed to" improvements the valve-assemblies of such'sy'ster'ns;

andhas for one of its objects the provision of means whereby-communication between a-'se lected protected space and: thesmoke detectingcabinet is completely" shut off before com-mu r'i'ica--' tion -is effected between the fire extinguishing mediummamro1d-antne"space,- r L Another object residesthe" provision- 0fnovel valve operating means for acco' ishing the a'bover'nentioned object; such mean includifig a rsilientamernber rer efieetively closingone valve port before opening-another valve per-t the closing-and opening- 6f the ports being effected bya single operatidn. F 1

Anotheriobject of the-present inventionresides in meansfor locking the-valve in: eithe'n' detectinglor e'xtin'g ui'sl iing position and means for indicating the tpositiomof thevalve.

A further object resi'des in th'e nov'eLconstrum tion' and arrangement ofithe parts of thevalv'e' assembly of -theipresent inventiona. v

A still lfurthertobjebttresides inxn'ovel means for interconnecting a:-.plurality.a of :valve' Hassem; blie's to provideiaz manifold; z withoutzthez USEAOf pipe connections, n-i'pples,' 'couplings; unions or th dikep; .6

Other and 'furthemobj ects of lithe present: in:-.- vention will be obvious from theifollowingadee tailed "description'iandi the accompanying drawings, in which drawings: v A a Figurel" 15: a" vertical sectional viewiofia valve assembly embodyingthei presentzinventiorr, with certain "partsshow/n in elevationz- Figure 2 is a plan. view of the valveas'semblys meniscus a frontend" elevational View of the a's'sembly; and l w Fi ure 4- isa" rear end -=e1evational view of; a plurality of suchva1veaassemb1i'es inter-cone. nect'edtor use-in a-fire' detecting and: ex tinguishing system.

efe'rri'ng 'tothe-drawings sin det'ailgztthe 'valve asser'nloly; shown: n-isection ifia-li'igure lpcom prises a housing fl 'havin airport -i2 in com munication: with iconduit [4: leading to? a prir-i tected space compartmer'it' or theilike' (not shown) Another: port; I=6," in iaxialt alignment with the port [2,- is'-i n communication With-:a conduit l '8 leading to' a siiio'ke detector cabinet 9 oh 5 3. 596%? f6 s v i -s af ora mangra al thy",

oimally 1s" provided 3 between a protected space and smoke detector through the conduits l4 and [8.

A port 26 is provided in the housing, at right angles to the other ports, for the admission of fire extinguishing medium into a central chamber 28 which is in communication with each of the other ports. The port 25, for convenience of description, will be referred to as the gas inlet port, while the. ports i6 and I2, respectively, will be referred to as the air outlet and air inlet ports. The gas inlet port 25 has a valve seat 30 for a valve member 32 having a sealing ring 34 of compressible material adapted to abut the seat 30. The valve member 32 is cup-shaped and has a shoulder 36 formed thereon against which one end of a spring 38 is seated, the other end of which is seated in a cap or plug 40. This spring normally retains the valve member 32 on its seat, whereby normally to prevent the admission of fire extinguishing medium into the central chamber 28. p

A stem 42 is in axial alignment with the valve member 32 and has a guide member 44 at the inner end thereof. The guide member 44 has an enlarged portion 46 slidable within the valve member 32, which enlarged portion is recessed to accommodate a spring 48. One end of the spring 48 is seated in the recess of the guide member and its other end is seated on the inner wall of the cup-shaped valve member 32, whereby to normally bias the stem 42 to the right, as viewed in Figure The stem 42, when moved to the left, as viewed in Figure 1, will efiect the unseating of. the valve member 32 in the manner hereinafter described in detail. This stem also effects the operation of the ball check valve 22 through the medium of a resilient valve operating member. This operating member is in the form of a spring 50, through which the stem passes, whereby to support the same on the stem. The spring 50 has a plurality of convolutions of substantially equal diameter fitting closely on the end of the stem adjacent the guide member 44, the innermost convolutions of that portion engaging the end of the member 44. The convolutions adjacent those fitting closely on the stem gradually increase in diameter into a frusto-conical formation providing a resilient wedge comprising the resilient valve operating member. The other end of the spring is secured to a collar 52 on the stem 42, which collar is retained in position by a retaining ring 54 fitted in a groove in the stern. The stem 42 extends out of the housing through an aperture which is provided with a packing 56 seated in a recess 58 in the housing and held in position by a washer 60.

The end of the stem 42 which extends out of the housing engages a cam 62 mounted on a shaft 64 supported in lugs 66 on the housing. The cam 62 has detents at each end of its cam surface for limiting the rotation thereof, as will be described presently. i g The cam has an operating lever 68 secured thereto for manual operation thereof. This lever has indicia on opposite faces thereof, one or the other of which is visible depending upon the position of the lever. The lever also has a space adjacent its extremity for receiving a Line number corresponding to the number of the space in communication with the air inlet port of the valve controlled by the lever.

Any desired number of the valve assemblies,

shown in Figure 1, may be connected together to form a manifold, the number of assemblies employed depending upon and corresponding to, the number of spaces to be protected by the system. A manifold employing three of such assemblies is shown in Figure 4.

In order to so arrange the manifold, each of the housings or bodies it) has a pair of apertured flanges or lugs 70 at opposite sides adapted to engage, and be bolted to, the flanges of adjacent assemblies by means of bolts 12. End plates 14 and 16 are connected to the housings at the end assemblies comprising the manifold, the end plate 14 having a connection to a conduit 15 leading to a source of supply of fire extinguishing medium, and the end plate i6 being closed by a plug 18. One side face of each housing it) has an annular groove 80, around the gas inlet, accommodating a packing 82, which preferably is of the type known as doughnut packing. The end plate 16 has a corresponding annular groove and packing, but the end plate 14 has not. These packings serve to maintain the valve assemblies in the manifold air and gas tight.

As will be seen from Figure 2, a through gas passage is provided in each body member and is in communication with the gas inlet port. As will be seen from Figure 4, when the bodies are connected to provide the manifold, the through gas passages of the bodies are in alignment, and, as will be understood from the foregoing description of the valve assembly, the fire extinguishing medium in the through gas passage normally is prevented from entering the central chamber 28 of any of the bodies until the normally closed gas inlet valve 32 of a selected body is opened.

As will be seen from the foregoing, any one of the valve bodies can readily be removed from the manifold, shown in Figure 4, by removing the bolts 12 holding that valve body in place, whereby the valve body can be slipped out of position for repair or replacement, without disturbing the other valve bodies in the system. It will also be seen that the system of the present invention does not require any pipe connections, nipples, couplings or unions between the valve bodies, as in prior structures.

The operation of the valves and the system in which these valves are employed will now be described.

- Assuming that the smoke detector has indicated that fire has broken out in one of the protected spaces, the attendant will operate the lever 68 for the designated space, and upon rotating the lever in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 1, the initial movementof the lever and the cam 62 connected thereto will cause the high portion 84 of the cam surface to move the stem 42 to the left, as viewed in Figure 1, whereby the wedgeshaped spring 50 will engage the ball check 22 and move it onto its seat against the action of the spring, thereby closing off the line to the smoke detector cabinet. Continued movement of the lever 68 and the wedge-shaped spring 50 will cause the large conical portion of the spring to collapse and ride under the ball check 22, whereby the guide member 44 will be caused to engage the bottom of the cup-shaped valve member 32 and force that valve member off its seat, thereby per-. mitting fire extinguishing medium to enter the central chamber and pass out through the air inlet, which now becomes a gas outlet, and flow into the space in communication with the conduit 14. v

When the lever 68 has been rotated to a position to effect the operation just described, a detent 86 on the cam surface will engage the end of the steel. 3. and leek; he, eve he and? the tests ast ated: ther by the r respectiv 012-v etatedgbsi iqus.

he, lever s. L the o erated p ition he mi itia. theorem name y he w r Extinguishiia. ll: be dea ly v ible, wher by; o; indicate that t e; ar icular valve pera d i in u shin bqsitipa.

When the has been extinguished; the. lever s gtatedi nth pmsite ire ti niu i a t n 181 s chats-c i s. hee idiq he .s e y aye s aml ea l ll; qitth joge a ins parts e; estored; s he r n ial; e c ing positions. (Figure I), the indicia, namely the word Detecting, will" be visible on the lever, indicathat he: s mb isi ni dete t n position. By reasorr 01 the engagement of the valve stem with the detent88 the-partswill belocked in detecting; position.

Examthe fore oina t wills-L e seen that: the nresen tmventioniprovides:valve embm mbodying means for effectively. closing one valve port during the initial operation and before opening another valve port, and-:Wherein the operation effecting the closing and open-inglof the: ports is effected by a single operation. It will also be seen that a plurality of the valve assemblies may be connected together into a manifold, and wherein fire extinguishing medium from a common source is prevented from being discharged except to a selected point of use.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not Wish to be limited to that precise form, as obviously various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A valve assembly of the class described comprising a body having a gas inlet port, an air inlet port, an air outlet port, and a chamber in communication with each of said ports; a normally closed gas inlet valve controlling the gas inlet port; a normally open valve controlling the air outlet port; a movable stem extending into said chamber; a substantially conical resilient member extending about said stem and connected for movement therewith upon the initial movement thereof to effect the closing of said air outlet valve; and means operable by said stem subsequent to the closing of the air outlet valve for opening the gas inlet valve, whereby gas will be permitted to enter said chamber and pass out thereof through the air inlet port.

erable to close the air outlet port; means normally biasing said check member to retain the air outlet port open; a movable stem extending into said chamber; spring means coiled about said stem and having an enlarged portion for engagement with said check member and operable by said stem to effect the closing of said air outlet port; and means operable by said stem subsequent to the closing of the air outlet port for opening the gas inlet valve, whereby gas will be permitted to enter said chamber and pass out thereof through the air inlet port.

3. A valve assembly of the class described comprising a body having a gas inlet port, an air inlet; port, an air outlet port, and a chamber communication with each of said ports; a nor"- mally closed gas inlet valve controlling the gas inlet port; a ball check member, in said chamber operable: to close the air outlet port; means normally-biasing said check memberto' retain the air" outlet port open a movabl'e stem" extending int'o said chamber: spring means coiled about said stern and having an enlarged portion for engagement with said check member and openable upon initia-l movement of: said stem to effect the closing of saidair" outlet port, the enlarged portion of said spring means. being collapsible to permit override of. the stem: means operable by said stem' upon furthermovement thereof subsequent to the closing of" theair" outlet port for opening-the gas inletval've; whereby gas'willbe permitted to enter said chamber and pass out thereof through the airinlet port;- and" manual? 1y operablemeansformoving said stem;

4. A valve assembly-of 'the class described com prising a body-havinga gasinlet port; an=- air inlet port; an air outlet port; and a chamber in communication with each== of said ports; a gas inlet'valvemember'controlling the gasinlet portg' means normally biasing the gas inlet valve member to retain the gas inlet port closed; an air outlet valve member adjacent the air' outlet port controlling the flow of air therethrough; means normally biasing the air outlet valve member to retain the air outlet port open; a movable stem extending into said chamber; substantially conical resilient means extending about and operable by said stem upon the initialmovement thereof and adapted to engage said air outlet valve member to effect the closing of the air outlet port, said resilient means being yieldable upon engagement with the air outlet valve to permit continued movement of the stem; and means providing a slidable connection between said stem and said gas inlet valve and including a springoperable by said stem upon further movement thereof subsequent to the closing of the air outlet valve to effect opening the gas inlet valve.

5. A valve assembly of the class described comprising a body having a gas inlet port, an air inlet port, an air outlet port, and a chamber in communication with each of said ports; a recessed gas inlet valve member controlling the gas inlet port; means normally biasing the gas inlet valve member to retain the gas inlet port closed; an air outlet valve member adjacent the air outlet port controlling the flow of air therethrough; means normally biasing the air outlet valve member to retain the air outlet port open; a movable stem extending into said chamber having means on its inner end extending into the recess of said gas inlet valve member; substantially conical resilient means extending about and operable by said stem upon the initial movement thereof and adapted to engage said air outlet valve member to efiect the closing of the air outlet port, said resilvient means being yieldable, upon engagement with the air outletrivalve, to permit continued movement of the stem; anda spring in the recess of the gas inlet valve member ahdoperable by said stem means upon further movement thereof subsequent to the closing of the air outlet valve to effect opening the gas inlet valve.

6. A valve assembly of the class described comprising a body having a gas inlet port, an air inlet port, an air outlet port, and a. chamber in communication with each of said ports; a valve member normally closing said gas inlet port; a normally open valve for said air outlet port ineluding a valve member structurally independent of said gas inlet port valve member; amovable stem extending into said chamber having its inner end adjacent and relatively movable with respect to said gas inlet valve member; means including a spring providing a slidable connection between said gas inlet valve member and the inner end of said stem arranged to enable said stem to effect unseating of said gas inlet valve member; and means extending about said stem and movable therewith and operable by said stem upon initial movement thereof to effect closing of said air outlet valve member,

7. A valve assembly of the class described comprising a body having a gas inlet port, an air inlet port, an air outlet port, and a chamber in communication with each of said ports; a valve member for said gas inlet port formed with a bore facing said chamber; a spring normally causing said valve member to close said gas inlet port; a spring in said bore; a valve member for said air outlet port; a spring normally urging said last mentioned valve member to maintain said air outlet port open; a stem slidably mounted on said body and extending into said chamber adjacent and relatively movable with respect to said air outlet valve member and having means on its inner end positioned in said bore of said gas inlet valve member for movement therein and engaging the spring therein; means extending about said stem normally out of contact with saidair outlet valve member adapted to engage said air outlet valve member to effect closing thereof; and means for moving said stem inwardly with respect to said bore to cause said means extending about said stem to engage and close said air outlet valve member upon initial movement of said stem and to thereafter cause said stem to unseat said gas inlet valve member and open said gas inlet port.

RAYMOND A. TROY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,235,858 Williams Mar. 25, 1941 2,289,567 Berglund July 14, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 528,621 Great Britain 1 of 1940 

